Film Room: A Fresh Start

It was another loss -an expected loss, like so many that had come before it.

But a game this close was not expected. Remember, Sam Houston is in second place. What we saw in the close loss was a rejuvenated Lamar team that never trailed by more than eight points.

Here’s a series of plays that epitomizes a team playing with more…something. Heart, energy, passion, effort, call it what you want, but they actually looked like a team that could win.

By the 9:25 mark of the first half, Lamar had turned the ball over 10 times. Woof.

However, for the remainder of the contest (about 3/4 of the game) the Cardinals limited their turnovers to 10 more.

We pick things up shortly after that 9:25 mark, with Lamar ahead 20-15. Lamar has played in man-to-man and 1-3-1 defenses and sets up in a 2-3 here.

At the 3-point arc, Lamar guard Nimord Hilliard gets screened by 240-pound Sam Houston forward Terrance Motley (ironically No.24) to the point where you can’t see Hilliard.

Sam Houston guard Paul Baxter, the beneficiary of the screen, rolls off the Motley screen as Lamar guard Anthony Holliday slides away, back to his area of the zone. Baxter, realizing he has a clean look, pulls up for a mid-range jumper.

Meanwhile, Holliday comes off the screen and enters back into the play. He comes from behind to tip Baxter’s shot.

Hilliard grabs the loose ball, as both sides hustle down the court.

Next we see another example of a theme from throughout the night. The Cards play with more confidence as evidence of taking more risks. By this I mean taking more 3-pointers, they were 5-of-15 (like a somewhat normal team) from beyond the arc instead of the usual 1-for-5 type totals. Here, we see Hilliard really push the tempo with a half-court pass to Donovan Ross.

As always-fantastic radio man Dave Hofferth points out in the broadcast, Hilliard actually misses a streaking Holliday, but finds Ross here.

The long pass pays off. Ross puts it in to make it 22-15.

And then perhaps the most important part of the play unfolds.

LOOK AT THIS MAN.

OK, albeit blurry, you can see…he’s smiling. He’s having fun playing basketball although he’s on a 3-23 team.

Depending on who you ask, the season is not over because Lamar is still actually playing for something. That something is the Southland Tournament. Now, qualifying for the conference tourney is not a huge accomplishment for most squads (8 of 11 teams qualify).

But for this group of players -a group that has gone through a hellish roller coaster of a season- winning two out of the remaining four regular season games would mean a lot. It would mean likely going to Katy. Take a look at the standings with an asterisk meaning a team is ineligible for the postseason.